One Harmless Wish
by evilblonders
Summary: 18-year-old Henry makes a harmless wish on a shooting star and finds himself back in 2011 the day after bringing Emma to Storybrooke. He's ten years old, shorter than his moms again, and the curse has not yet been broken. What does he do? How will things change with his future knowledge? Can he speed up Regina's redemption by believing in her from the beginning? Regal Swan Believer
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

**I had a story idea based on other stories on here. I decided to share it even though I think it's executed better in my head than out of it.**

 **It's similar to all of the other back to beginning fics where Henry or Regina or Emma end up back at the start of season 1, but hopefully my idea will still be interesting. This will be different, don't worry. Anything that seems to be the same as another story on here, I probably read it and it's stuck in my head, but I'm not intentionally trying to copy it.**

 **I think this is a good idea so hopefully I'll actually finish it. That's my goal. Unless everyone hates it.**

 **Although I'll probably want to finish it for myself anyway.**

* * *

BOSTON, 2019

Henry's family left a few hours ago to go back to Storybrooke after moving into his university dorm in Boston for his first year. At 18, he's by himself for the first time in his life.

He lay on his extra long dorm bed, his feet hanging slightly over the edge. He had a growth spurt over the last year and now towers over his moms at 6 feet. He smiles, thinking back to the group goodbye hug he shared with everyone before they left. Then he thinks back through the last eight years of his life and how everything changed from the day he brought Emma to break the curse.

He sighs and gets off of his bed to look across the quad outside of his window. He gazes up at the stars as they begin to show in the darkening sky and pulls his desk chair over to sit, resting his arms on the windowsill. He inhales and lets out a breath, his gaze moving up, eyes brightening as a meteor streaks across the sky.

A shooting star.

"When you wish upon a star," Henry whispered to himself. He knew nothing would happen, at least not like anything that would happen in magic-filled Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest, but he knew wishes still held their own special kind of magic.

Henry closed his eyes and thought of everything that would make him happy. He thought of his moms, and his grandparents, and all of the people in Storybrooke who have influenced his life and are connected to him in some way. Everything is finally settled down. There hasn't been any real drama since they were all able to face the darkness after Emma became the dark one. Everyone has been getting along and living their lives happily.

Henry wants it to stay that way. He only wishes… he wishes that they could have had this happiness start sooner. If only everyone had strengthened their relationships with each other earlier, maybe more of the drama and deaths would not have happened. Could he have done anything differently to help everyone?

Henry opens his eyes and sighs. He believes he could. After all, he does still have the heart of the truest believer.

"No use thinking of what could have been," Henry chuckles to himself. "I'm starting a new chapter of my life. My moms are still getting along and everything is finally going well. I'm going to enjoy it."

And with that said, Henry slowly stands up from his chair and reaches up with his arms, opening his back, before turning off the light and crawling into bed.

His last thoughts before he drifts into sleep were still on his harmless wish. A what-could-have-been scenario playing in his head as a small, green ball of light flashes in the stars.


	2. Chapter 2 - Cursed Storybrooke

**Chapter 2! I have half of the next chapter complete so it shouldn't be too long before the next update.**

 **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far and those who started following the story. I'm glad you like this idea.**

 **Also, the timeline is a little different from that of the show. In this story, Regina gets a hold of the book a day sooner than in show, but Emma still crashed into the sign and such.**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, 2011

Henry woke to the sunlight streaming through window and hitting his face. He pulled his blanket further under his chin and burrowed into his pillow. He was so comfy. Who would have thought that a dorm bed would be so comfortable? The mattress actually feels really heavenly, like the high-end memory foam he has at his bed at home–

Wait a second. That's not right. His dorm bed should not be nearly as good as the one he had at home ever since his mom bought it when he was ten years old.

Henry pops open his eyes and observes his surroundings. This is not his dorm room ceiling. He slowly sits up, letting the blanket fall to his waist. Lifting his hand, he notices how much smaller it is than it was last night when he went to sleep. Quickly uncovering his legs, he gasps as he realizes he just barely takes up half the length of his bed and touches his suddenly smooth, cheeky, prepubescent face.

"What's going on?" Henry asked aloud, "Why am I suddenly… I think, ten years old?"

He swings his legs to hang off the side of his bed and stands up on the floor, slightly disoriented at being short again. He crosses his room and glances at his electronic clock on his desk.

"8:30 in the morning, October 24, 2011," Henry whispers, still shocked. He takes the few steps over to his window to look at the clock tower across town. It reads 8:30 as well. He lets out a relieved sigh. That means Emma is here. He somehow traveled back in time. His eyes widen.

His wish. The shooting star!

"My wish for happiness to arrive sooner… I think it came true," he says to himself. _That means I brought back Emma last night and mom is pretty angry that I left and that I think she's the evil queen. That means that she has my book and should be coming in here to question me about the last pa—_

Suddenly his door opens and he hears his mom storm up behind him.

"The missing pages, where are they?" he hears his mom ask in one of her deeper voices.

Now that he knows how she is now, well, in the future, he forgot how guarded she was when he was younger. Henry slowly turns around to face Regina, determined to do things differently this time.

Henry looks into his mother's eyes and remembers his response the first time. He proceeds slowly and calmly.

"Why? What do you care?"

"I care because you think I'm some evil queen," Regina says. She bends down to Henry's level, "and that hurts me, Henry. I'm your mother."

He gulps, remembering what he said next, that she wasn't his mother. He knows that's not true now and wishes he had realized that sooner. Wait, it _is_ sooner. He has a second chance, at least if this isn't a dream. He can change things for the better. Henry can't help the small the smile that forms on his face at this realization. Things will be different and much better this time.

"Yes," Henry says smiling wider and speaks slowly and convincingly to make sure his mom believes every word, "You are my mom. I love you and I'm sorry."

He closes the small distance between them and wraps his arms tightly around his mom's waist. She's taken aback and frozen at this unexpected response from her son, who yesterday was convinced she didn't love him. She slowly wraps her arms around him, awkwardly at first, but then more comfortably, giving him a kiss to the top of his head. They held each other close before he, unhurriedly, pulled away.

"But mom, you _are_ the evil queen and _you_ need to tell me the truth," Henry says confidently, "then I will give you the missing pages."

Regina puts her hands on Henry's shoulders and exhaled incredulously as she starts to stand up slightly.

"Henry…"

"No," Henry interrupted, "Don't 'Henry' me, mom. I know everything. I–" Henry paused. _…Am from the future? Your 18-year-old son trapped back in his ten year old body with the heart of the truest believer? How do I explain what happened? Do I tell her?_

"I know who you are," Henry decided. Henry saw Regina open her mouth to reply, tilting her head and giving an expression on her face that he knew was going to result in a denial.

"But I don't care," he replied, cutting the reply from ever leaving her lips. He continues defiantly, "You're my mom and you always will be, but you wouldn't have been if you were not the evil queen too. Now, Emma, my other, _additional_ mom, is here and _we_ have to help her."

Henry looks up at his mom, willing her to believe. He sees the conflicted expression her face as she battles with this new information against what she's always known. When her face starts to relax and she sighs, Henry knows he's making progress.

Regina stands up fully and smoothes her robe down with her free hand that is not holding the book. She takes hold of the book with two hands again and carefully closes it, closing her eyes and breathing deeply for a few seconds.

Henry watches her start to collect herself and turns to his backpack that is hanging on the back of chair. He remembers putting the last pages in his backpack the first time around and then giving them to Emma to peruse and start to believe. Maybe he should show them to his mom first. She may have a better, more efficient plan of action to move forward.

He unzips the main pocket and carefully slides the pages out of the bag. He approaches Regina just as she opens her eyes once again.

"These are the missing pages," Henry says holding them out in front, "they are very important. They explain E—"

The sound of the clock tower interrupted him as bells rang to announce the time as 8:45. He sees the shocked look on his mom's face as she hears the tolling of the previously frozen clock. She looks over to the window and out to the tower, a frightened look on her face that she quickly tries to mask.

Looking down at the pages Henry is holding, Regina sees the name Emma stitched on the baby blanket in the illustration of Charming holding his child, the savior of the dark curse. She looks back at Henry's face and knows she can't keep lying to him anymore, but she's still scared of what this all means. Her life is about to change, probably for the worst, again.

She sighs. "Hold on to these Henry," she says pushing his hand holding the pages back to him, "Keep them safe. We will discuss this later. I promise… I promise I'll tell you truth." She bends down to kiss him on the cheek and leaves the book that was in her hand on his desk as she starts to leave to room, "I need get ready and… take care of something in town. You need to get ready too. Why aren't you dressed yet? If you want to get hot chocolate at Granny's before school, you need to leave soon. Get going and we'll discuss everything later."

With that, Regina leaves the room and Henry is left with the book and a much better start to nurturing his relationship with his mom.

 _She trusts me. This is huge!_ Henry thinks as he smiles at his book and begins to get ready for the day. _Now I just need mom to not do anything rash and mom to believe she's the savior again and everything will be okay._ _I'll start with getting mom a hot chocolate with cinnamon. That went over well last time._


	3. Chapter 3 - Operation Cobra 2 point 0

**Chapter 3! I think I have somewhat of a routine going now, updating every week. I can do this. However, I still feel like it makes more sense in my head than out of it, but that's a personal problem. lol**

 **Thanks for all of the reviews and follows, everyone! They're very much appreciated. I love that you love this story.**

 **This chapter is a bit filler-ish, but starts setting the stage for some things that are changing because Henry knows the future. Well, _knew_ the future. Now he's created an entirely different future from the hence he came because of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff.**

 **The story will move a little faster in the upcoming chapters now that little things are changing. I'm thinking of going through the end of season 1, then adding in elements of the later seasons. Obviously it won't be the same since everything in season 1 will occur in a much shorter time frame (or some things won't happen at all) due to Henry's knowledge.**

* * *

Emma crossed over the hotel room in her tank top and underwear after hearing the knocks. Opening the door, she sees Regina, Henry's adoptive mother, standing there with a basket of apples.

Regina smiles, "Did you know the honey crisp apple is the heartiest of all apples? It can weather any storm."

Emma looks at the mayor incredulously as she listens to more facts about the apples, and a special apple tree, she's looking at before being offered one.

"Thanks," she says doubtfully, taking the apple.

"I thought you could use some snacks on your ride back to…" Regina starts diplomatically, but stops as she remembers her conversation with Henry an hour ago. She sighs. _She's the savior. Kicking her out of town is useless if the curse has already started to break._

Emma opens her mouth to tell this seemingly omnipotent mayor that she isn't going anywhere when the woman in question starts speaking again.

"I thought we could start over and you would accept these apples as a gift to enjoy during your stay," Regina amends.

Thinking back to Henry apologizing and telling her he loves her, she tries to will herself to believe him. She takes a breath, "My son would like to get to know you, but you can't blame me for being cautious. It's been only him and me for ten years and since he got that book, things have been stressful with the fairytale thing."

"Yeah, ya think?" Emma answers, passing the apple back and forth in her hands. "I think he needs some help. I'll stay a while longer to make sure Henry's okay and being taken care of."

Regina purses her lips slightly. "I already had him in therapy, dear, but after talking with _my_ son this morning I have come to the decision that I would be better suited to helping him than the cri– than Dr. Hopper."

"You sure about that?" Emma responds, crossing her arms loosely and staring intently at the mayor after placing the apple gently on the dresser by the door.

"What are you saying, dear?" Regina asks, on the offense.

"I'm saying that there was a reason Henry came to find me and I'm not leaving here until I know that reason and I know that this really is his best chance."

Feeling threatened, Regina steps closer to Emma, holding the basket closer for security, she speaks low, "I think we both know who is his best chance here, Miss Swan."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to see that one of us is," Emma challenges as she glances up at Regina.

"Don't underestimate me, Miss Swan. You have no idea what I'm capable of."

"Wasn't planning on it, Madame Mayor." Emma retorts mockingly.

Emma and Regina continue glaring into the other's eyes before Regina places the basket into Emma's arms, forcing her to hold on to it, shocking them both out of their stares.

"Enjoy the apples," Regina says as she turns regally away from Emma and walks down the hall, leaving a confused, calculating Emma in her wake.

* * *

Granny's was buzzing with the morning diners when Emma walked in and sat at the bar to order breakfast. A few minutes later, Emma is reading the Storybrooke Mirror and Ruby drops a mug of hot chocolate with whip cream and cinnamon in front of her.

"I didn't order that," Emma says looking up at Ruby.

"I know. You have an admirer," Ruby says, leaning on the counter.

Turning around, Emma spots Graham sitting in a booth and rolls her eyes as she picks up her mug to head over to him. After telling him she was flattered and impressed by the added cinnamon to her cocoa, she finds out it wasn't Graham, but Henry who sent the drink over.

"Kid, shouldn't you be in school?" Emma asks looking over at the boy.

"Duh, I'm ten. Walk me," Henry says boldly, swinging his backpack on and climbing out of the booth. He starts walking toward the entrance of Granny's, intent on Emma following. She does.

Henry and Emma start walking down the main street toward the elementary school. Emma is passing the apple she got from Regina earlier back and forth in her hands, thinking about the confusing conversation she had with her earlier.

"Hey kid, so what's up with you and your mom?" Emma questions the ten-year-old next to her.

Henry gives her a curious look. _Hmm, maybe I can get my moms to be friends sooner this time too. Since I won't be fighting against my mom like last time, this time I can get her to do less against Emma and maybe, just maybe Emma will believe in everything quicker. Now, I must proceed delicately. Operation Cobra 2.0 is a go._

"It's not about us, it's her curse. We have to break it," Henry says confidently, "First, _we_ have to get my mom on board. She will help me, us, too. I've already started this morning."

Emma looks down at Henry, furrowing her eyebrows as Henry speaks again.

"Step one, Identification. I call it, Operation Cobra. All the greatest plans have cool names," Henry smiles up at his second mom proudly.

"Cobra? That has nothing to do with fairytales," Emma says, continuing to pass the apple and back and forth.

"Exactly. It's a codename so only we know the details," Henry answers, "Remember, everyone else in this town is cursed, when you start to talk about their pasts or anything related to fairytales, their memories go fuzzy. It's better if no one else knows the details yet."

Emma nods. She starts to think this through in her head, playing along.

"So everyone here is a fairytale character, they just don't know it?"

"That's the curse. Time's been frozen. Until you got here and time started moving again."

Henry looks up at Emma as she brings her apple to her mouth, taking a bite. He remembers stopping her last time and tilts his head to the side, thoughtfully. _By not throwing the apple away, Emma may not be forming as hostile an opinion about mom this time. This is good._

"Where'd you get that?" Henry asks knowingly.

"Your mom," Emma takes another bite and finishes chewing, smiling slightly at the taste, "huh? She was right. This really is delicious."

Henry smirks. "Good thing it's not poison then, isn't it?"

Emma looks down at him, confused.

"You know, evil queen. Poison apple. Snow White. Keep up, mo—Emma. I know you know the Disney tale at least." Henry says lightheartedly. He catches himself from calling Emma, mom, not wanting to freak her out with the title.

"Ha-ha, kid. And your theory says that I'm the so-called daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming, right?" Emma smiles.

"Yes. And it's not a theory. It's the truth. Look," Henry says, taking one strap of his backpack off of his arm and bringing the bag around front, unzipping the pocket. He takes out the last pages of the book.

"This is the end of the book, the part with you in it. See, your mom _is_ Snow White. That's you, as a baby."

"Kid…"

"I know it's a lot to take in. That's okay that you don't believe right now, but you will. Heroes never believe at first. You're a hero. Just like my adoptive mom and my entire family, well, most of them anyway." He shrugs. _Okay, so my mom isn't a hero yet, per say, but she will be. Emma probably didn't notice._ He hands the pages to Emma and she reluctantly takes them, holding them between her thumb and forefinger.

Emma and Henry have reached the school and they stand at the entrance. Emma takes another bite of the apple and looks at the building and the children and teachers mulling around as they make their way inside. _This is a nice-looking school. Seems nicer than some of the schools I had been to during the times I lived in group homes. Henry does seem to have a good life here…_

"I have to go, but I'll find you later and we can get started," Henry says, shouldering his backpack once again, "I'll be talking to my mom tonight about the curse, too. Then I'll be able to report back with even more information tomorrow."

As he backs away and begins turning toward the school, he pauses. _I think last time I made the declaration that she believed me because I thought that was why she originally stayed. I know that's not necessarily true now, but maybe it will help…_

Emma smiles at him, giving a slight wave, faltering a bit as she hears him say, "I knew you'd believe me!" with a giant smile on his face.

"I never said I did," Emma says watching him walk away as Mary Margaret Blanchard, Henry's teacher, walks up to her.

"You didn't have to," Henry replies, still smiling as he goes inside, despite being annoyed at having to repeat the eight years of school he had only just completed before getting sent back here. _Things will be different this time. I'm sure of it. I can deal with repeating every lesson again. Ugh, seven more years and I'll have to take the SATs and APs again. Damn it. No, it doesn't matter. Things will be better. It will be much better. It will be better…_

"It's good to see him smile again," Emma hears from the pixie-haired woman who walked up to her. She looks at the kind face with hair as black as the darkest night, lips naturally red, and skin almost as white as snow.

Emma shrugs, not used to having anyone like Henry looking up to her so fondly.

"I didn't do anything."

"You stayed. Does the Mayor know you're still here?"

"Yeah, she knows. What's her deal? She's very hot and cold. I mean, she offered me a basket of apples earlier, but she doesn't seem very… how did she even get elected?"

"She's been Mayer for as long as I can remember. She inspires a bit of, well, fear. I'm afraid I only made that worse by giving Henry that book since he thinks she's the Evil Queen," Mary Margaret explains.

"Who does he think you are?" Emma tilts her head to the side, curiously. She holds her finished apple remains between her fingers, anxious to throw it away to avoid making her hand sticky.

"Oh, it's silly," Mary Margaret tries to wave off.

"I just got five minutes of silly. Lay it on me."

"Snow White," she responds, "Who does he think you are?"

Emma slightly gapes at the woman in front of her. According to Henry, this woman was her mother? She's the same age, maybe even a little younger. After blinking a few times, she says she's not in the book and manages to ask her supposed mother about the doctor that Henry was seeing for therapy. She definitely needs more answers. Who better to ask than a professional of psychology. _I'm going to pay this doctor a visit and see if I can use my biological status to see his files. This theory of his just got weirder. What is going through Henry's head?_

* * *

After leaving Granny's and giving Emma her apples, Regina made her way to her office to get some work done. Sitting at her desk, she's hard at work looking over documents and initialing certain things. She hadn't expected so much paperwork in this new world, but over time she came to enjoy it, at least enjoying making everything work smoothly.

Half an hour later, she hears and then sees Sydney Glass knock and come in to her office. She rolls her eyes slightly. _He better make this quick… and useful._

"Hello, Mr. Glass," Regina says politely.

"Regina—Madame Mayor, have you seen the Mirror? First exciting news piece in quite some time, huh?" Sydney says excitedly, holding up his handiwork, the newspaper. He coughs.

"I did some digging on this Emma Swan and, while I didn't find much, I found out she doesn't stay in one place very long. She's always moving around and—"

Regina holds up a hand in front of her. "That's not useful information. Why are you telling me this?"

"Well, I thought you would like to know about the newcomer, especially since she's Henry's birth mother. You won't have to worry about her staying long and interfering."

"Don't tell me what I should or should not worry about, Mr. Glass. None of that is useful to me," Regina says, lowering her voice slightly, "Do you know what I do with things that aren't useful? I throw them away. Now, leave."

Sydney quickly scurries away. Regina starts organizing her papers in neat piles as she stands. Grabbing her purse and pushing her chair into her desk, she makes her way out of her office and out of the building.

Her heels clack on the sidewalk as she walks toward the middle of town. She observes the Enchanted Forest townsfolk as their Storybrooke selves and reflects on her curse and benefits that came from all of the modern technology. She thinks about the discussion she will be having with Henry later. _It is a good idea to share this with Henry, isn't it? He seemed so different this morning after yesterday. He loves me. Yesterday he said I wasn't his mom. What changed? And this woman, this Emma Swan, she's the savior of my curse and Henry's birth mother. Snow White's spawn. Is it really a good idea to accelerate the curse breaking? Is this what Rumpelstiltskin planned?_

Regina arrived in front of a specific building and approached the door. She enters and starts up the stairs, the sound of her heels echoing against the walls and uncarpeted floor. When she reaches the second floor, she walks down the hall to the door with an engraved plate that reads, "Dr. Hopper" in the center. Regina knocks and waits, hearing heavy footsteps echo from the bottom of the stairs she just walked on and moving up.

The door opens to reveal Dr. Hopper as he greets the Mayor, smiling gently and opening one of his arms toward the inside of his office.

"Good afternoon, Mayor Mills. It's good to see you. Henry still coming to see me later? Would you like to come in?"

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Regina says, getting down to business right away. "I don't believe that you—"

"Regina?! I mean, uh, Madame Mayor, what are you doing here?" Emma, who's revealed to be the owner of the footsteps Regina heard mere seconds ago, announces her presence to the two people in the doorway. Regina turns slightly, glaring at Emma for interrupting her, but not before glancing at her red jacket with disdain.

"I'm the Mayor, Miss Swan. I have business all over town."

Regina controls her features to not give anything way, but can't help but think of her original plan that was changed this morning. _I was going to plant the idea for Emma to take Henry's therapy files before I decided not to… for Henry. She's here anyway. All these years as a politician have only enhanced my persuasion skills. Interesting…_

"Tell me, what is it that you are doing here?" Regina asks, tilting her slightly to the side.

"I, uh," Emma pauses before standing up straighter, staring defiantly at the mayor, "I wanted to find out more about Henry. Like I said earlier, I need to know he's okay and being taken care of."

"I can assure you, Miss Swan, everything is fine. _My_ son is fine," Regina replies before turning back to the former cricket. "I would like to discuss terminating your sessions with Henry. Your services will no longer be required."

She moves to go inside again, but is stopped by Emma's voice.

"Hey, wait a second! Are you sure that's a good idea? The kid believes everyone is a fairytale character. That can't be healthy."

"Let me be the judge of what is or is not a good idea, Miss Swan." Regina begins to take a step in the doorway again, ready to rid herself of this frustrating woman.

Emma sticks her arm out in front of her, stopping her in her tracks.

"I would like a say in this, too."

"Pardon me, but I don't believe we've met?" Dr. Hopper cuts off the verbal fight starting between the two women. "I'm not at the liberty to disclose information about my patients to just anyone. I'm Dr. Hopper. Who are you?"

Emma takes in breath and looks at the doctor, ignoring the glare being sent her way from Regina on her left. She sticks out her hand to shake his in greeting.

"I'm Emma Swan. I'm Henry's birth mother."


	4. Chapter 4 - That's Crazy

**Chapter 4! It's been awhile and I'm sorry. Life got in the way.**

 **My writing style got a little cluttered in this chapter, but I think I got what I wanted across. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Although, I'm pretty sure this is more filler. I'll get better at writing, I promise!**

 **I have a brief outline of the rest. There should be approx 12 - 15 chapters in total if all goes to plan.**

 **Any suggestions are always welcome.**

* * *

Emma and Regina are sitting on the leather couch across from Dr. Archie Hopper in his office. Emma fidgets a little, tapping her foot and drumming her fingers lightly on her knee as she tries to avoid the daggers that Regina, ever poised as usual, is glaring her way. They can each hear the breathing of the others in the room as the silence lingers.

After Emma introduced herself, Dr. Hopper led the two women into his office to get out of the hallway. He wanted to understand how the presence of Emma Swan was going to affect Henry and the mayor's relationship. He didn't want to do anything wrong. From the moment he saw Emma arrive in town, he felt like some part of him was waking up from a long sleep. He wants to help people do the right thing even more so than usual.

A few seconds pass of only Emma's mindless finger tapping before Regina lets out a frustrated sigh.

"You have no right to be here, Miss Swan. Henry is _my_ son," Regina says, turning slightly towards Emma. "You did choose a closed adoption, did you not?"

Emma stops her tapping and looks at the slight smirk on Regina's face. She bites her lip for a second before realizing what she was doing and stops. She sits up straighter and faces Regina a little more, determined not to show any more weakness.

"Yes," Emma responds, keeping her voice steady, "But now that Henry sought me out, I want to be a part of his life."

Regina purses her lips, ready to respond. _Henry said earlier he wants both of us to work together. I will allow Miss Swan to stay, but how can I share him and work with this woman? She's going to take him away from me._

Regina sighs. _Henry, you're all I have._

"Well, Miss Swan, we will see about that. Now I will be going–" Regina starts to push herself up off the couch but relinquishes when Dr. Hopper interrupts.

"Wait a minute, Regina, I would be willing to be an unbiased third party to help you two talk through anything, if you want," Archie says in his naturally calm tone before looking over at Emma, "Emma, you have to realize that you don't have any legal rights to Henry. It is up to Regina to allow you to see him and Henry as well. Although, I'm sure that won't be a problem. Henry does seem taken with you." He places his hands gently on his lap, smiling warmly as he leans back in his seat.

"I just want what's best for him," Emma says softly, "That's why I gave him up. I didn't want him to go through the system like I did."

Emma turns to Regina again.

"Henry obviously wants me in his life. He wouldn't have come to me otherwise." Emma sighs, watching Regina's expressions intently, "I'm not a mother. That's pretty self-evident. I don't think I can take over for everything you are to him, but no matter what you do, I'm not going to leave. Even after only two days, I can't leave Henry. I won't."

Regina sighs. She nods her head at Emma, "Fine, Miss Swan. I don't have time to get into this with you. I have other business to take care of today and I've already spent more time here than I allotted. Anything you do with Henry, you must run by me first." Emma nods, scrunching her eyebrows slightly, feeling like she's missing something really important.

Regina stands up and takes a step towards the door, turning back to Dr. Hopper.

"I trust that you will keep the integrity of Henry's files?" she asks him pointedly. At his nod she continues, "Thank you. If I need any more help with Henry's… situation… I'll make the arrangements to continue, but for now I'll take it from here. Miss Swan, if you want to start over, come over to my office at 5 pm and we'll discuss going forward."

Emma manages a quick "I'll be there" before Regina briskly makes her way out of the office, the sound of her heels echoing down the hall and stairs. She stands up then too, looking at Dr. Hopper curiously.

"Before I leave, just tell me something. This fairy tale obsession, what is causing it? I mean, he thinks everyone is a character in his book. That's… crazy, right?"

"I hope you don't talk that way in front of him," Archie responds slowly, "The word crazy is, um, quite damaging. These stories… They're his language. He has no idea how to express complex emotion, so he's translating as best he can. This is how he communicates to help deal with his problems."

Emma nods, though still confused.

"But he got the book a month ago. Has he been seeing you longer than that? Why would the mayor want to terminate his therapy?"

"Um, he… he has," Archie coughs a little before he continues, "His mother is, uh, a very complicated woman. Over the years, her attempts to try and bring Henry close to her only backfired. You'll have to take this up with her if you have any more questions, I'm not at liberty to disclose personal information."

"Okay… uh, thanks," Emma turns to leave. _So, it's Regina._

"And Miss Swan, one more thing," Archie stops her as she reaches the door.

Emma turns and faces him, holding the door open.

"Just for the sake of the boy, be careful how you handle his belief system. Destroying his imagination would be… devastating."

Emma nods once and heads out of the office with more questions swimming around her head than answers _._

* * *

After school, Henry walks home to Mifflin Street, taking in the appearance of Storybrooke at this time. Many things have changed in eight years time and, along with the newer technology that Storybrooke had finally adopted, Henry looked at a few of the storefronts thinking of the newer ones that will take over later.

 _I wonder if I can influence how quickly Storybrooke integrates new technology this time around. Once mom is sheriff again, I'm sure she'll appreciate a higher quality computer._

Henry continues his musings as he approaches City Hall where he meets his mom before they have dinner. He's earlier today than usual as he remembered that he used to go to the school library before going home when he was younger, well, this age. He remembers how he started going to library more frequently as he discovered more of his mom's evil queen past. He shudders at how insensitive he was to his mom back then. He's determined to make things right this time around and that requires time. The more time he has to talk with her the better.

Henry walks around the back and smiles up at the unblemished apple tree as he passes to go to the back door. _I saved mom's tree from being cut this time around too. I'm on a role. That's got to be a good thing!_

Once inside, he makes his way to his mom's office and opens the door.

"Hey, mom!" he greets, seeing Regina at her desk with a bunch of papers in front of her. She looks up when she hears him come in.

"Henry," Regina smiles genuinely, "you're early."

"I know," he smiles in return, "I thought we could get a head start on Operation Cobra." He slips his backpack off and puts it on the couch before he starts to unzip the largest pocket to take out the book. He looks up at his mom again, noticing her perplexed expression.

"Operation Cobra?"

 _Oh, right. She didn't find out about the operation name until later._

Henry shrugs.

"Yes. It's what I'm calling our mission to help Emma believe and break your curse."

"Henry I–" Regina stands up from her chair, her hands on her desk. She sighs. "This may not be a good idea." She makes her way around her desk and over to Henry, standing a couple of feet in front of him.

Henry smiles again. His mom is trying to do the right thing. She just needs help. He looks up at her.

"No, Mom. This _needs_ to happen. It's the only way for you… to be happy. And you promised you would tell me the truth later," Henry smirks, looking much like the woman who raised him, "Well, it's later."

Raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms across her chest, Regina looks down at her son, amused. She bends down slightly, smirking.

"You want to try that again?"

Henry gapes at Regina for a moment, taken aback at her response before shaking his head to clear his thought. _That was funny, mom. I see what you're doing. My memories are sill of an 18-year-old; I know all your parenting tricks._

"Mom, it's later, _please?_ " he asks, elongating the please, "will you please tell me the truth?"

Regina puts her hand on his shoulder, standing upright and patting him gently.

"That's better," she says before sitting on the couch. She sighs as pats the space next to her for Henry. "Sit, sweetheart."

He complies and joins her on the cushion, leaving a few inches between them. She folds her hands in her lap not knowing how to begin.

"Well, you know that… your book says—I want you to know that I," Regina stammers before letting out a long breath. She pauses before she speaks again, quietly, "I'm the evil queen."

Henry puts his hand on her shoulder and pats gently like she did to him just before. She looks at his face, seeing only acceptance in her son's eyes. She lets out a relieved sigh, shocked and confused at how much her son's opinion matters to her.

"You can ask me anything," Regina adds, reaching her hand to gently push Henry's hair back off his forehead, "I… will do my best to answer honestly."

Henry takes a breath and thinks over his questions. Where should he begin? He already knows about the curse and what happens during and after. Should he ask about magic wishes? _Is it crazy that I was 18 years old yesterday? If anyone will understand, it will be mom. She knows magic. Okay, just start off slow._

"Do you ever regret casting the curse? Would you want to go back to Fairytale land?" Henry asks, always curious to the answer. He decided not to mention he knew the name of the Enchanted Forest, not wanting to reveal too much of what he knows too fast.

"No," Regina responds immediately, before taking a moment to think, "Although the curse was not all it was cracked up to be, it brought me to you. If I was still in the _Enchanted Forest_ I would be… very lonely, with no one except maybe my—"

She trails off, thinking of her father and his sacrifice she made to get here. She lost so much. She often thought about what her life would have been for the past 28 years if she never cast the curse, but that line of thinking always ended when she thought of Snow White. Snow White would have had her perfect family, living her happy ending with her baby daughter and husband and she would have no one. No one but her father who, while loving, was not what she needed.

She places her hand gently on the side of Henry's face and looks into his eyes. She shakes her head, "No, my sweet prince, I don't regret it. I love you more than anything I could have had over there."

"I love you, too, mom. So much. I'm sorry that I haven't been great at showing it lately." Henry leans into Regina's hand before scooting closer. He sits up straighter before speaking again. He inhales and lets it out slowly.

"Mom, I have something very important to tell you. Please don't think I'm crazy."

"Henry, I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you were crazy for believing your book. I'm just… I'm not… I'm…" Regina stammers. Admitting she was afraid has always been hard for her. Living her whole life with Cora as a mother, then forced into a marriage to a man thrice her age with a daughter less than ten years younger than herself, Regina does not know how to love very well. She only just began to learn after adopting Henry.

Henry holds up his hand in front of her. "I know, Mom. I believe you. This is… different. I wouldn't be surprised if you did think I was crazy."

Regina turns to face him a little more, still a little skeptical over his abrupt change in attitude from the last few days.

"Henry, you're starting to worry me. What is it?"

Henry takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. He looks up into his mom's eyes. This is the right thing to do.

"I've already lived through this," he starts, noting his mom's brows begin to scrunch. He continues, "Yesterday I was 18 years old in my college dorm room. I was looking out the window and saw a shooting star. I made a wish and this morning I woke up here, in my bedroom, 10 years old again, way before the curse was broken."

Regina drops her bottom lip slightly, eyes widening trying to wrap her head around this development. If this were true… magic was definitely involved. How? There was no magic in Storybrooke. Well, there were her magical items that she brought over, but other than that, nothing.

"What?" the mayor asks, tilting her head to the side.

"I was sent back in time. I don't even know how… I was in Boston. There's no magic there," Henry tilts his head too, frowning. Now that he was talking about it and really thinking about what happened, it was all so confusing, even though he knows that wishes on shooting stars hold their own special magic. His mom taught him that after she and Tinkerbell became friends again and he had a lot questions about wishes and fairies. _The fact that I made a one-off, harmless wish, randomly one night and it came true is still a little weird, even for the truest believer._

Recovering from her shock, Regina rests her hand in a fist under her chin for moment, looking down before back at Henry.

"Well, you are correct. There is no magic here, except for select items," she explains, "I would imagine if magic were to be brought here, which, if I am to believe you _are_ from the future, I assume it was?" Henry nods. "Then it will work differently than in the Enchanted Forest. Regardless of that, shooting stars have their own magic. The magic they use works outside of that of a sorcerer or sorceress."

"So it's not odd that someone answered my wish?"

"No, it's not. A wish is a very special thing," Regina explains before looking down at her lap.

"Unless you're me," she mumbles under her breath. Growing up, none of her wishes were ever answered, no matter what she asked.

Unfortunately, her mumbling wasn't low enough and Henry heard her. A contemplative look came over his face, deciding to file that information away for later. He was going to help his mom be better, maybe by getting her wish to come true.

"What was your wish, Henry? That will help us figure out why you were sent back here?" Regina asks, getting back to business.

"Well, I was thinking about my family, my _entire_ family, and how at that time everyone seemed to be happy. I noticed the star and wished that everyone could, um, maybe have happiness sooner. Like, what it would have taken for you to have your happy ending without all of the other sh—crap that happened before."

Regina smiles slightly, not used to having someone care so much for her. Thinking over Henry's wish, she wonders why it would be this point in time. It must be important in the grand scheme of things. If Henry already lived through this, then decisions must have been made here that influenced the future dramatically. _The savior's presence must be a part of this._

"That's very sweet, Henry. How did I get so lucky to have you as my son?" Regina says wistfully. "However, you need to tell me one thing."

Henry looks at her intently, shifting in his seat and straightening his back. He nods, smiling slightly through his closed mouth.

"Tell me one thing of this… future, something that I know now but you did not learn until later. Then, I will have no doubts that you lived this before."

Henry contorts his face and looks up and to the side before answering. After his mom is fully, completely, _absolutely_ on board, everything will begin to change. With Regina in on Operation Cobra, so much can be avoided. Everything that he went through before will be of no consequence. He's starting over. He and his mom will be more open and closer than ever. With these new developments, any conflicts or problems that are unavoidable will be more easily dealt with and understood… by everyone.

Henry takes a breath, thinking of this better future.

"Your mother, Cora. I know about her. She is the reason you were brought up thinking love is weakness. You told me you banished her when you were younger so you'd finally be free," Henry pauses, seeing his mom's face drop and her breathing quicken, almost unnoticeably at the mention of her mother.

Henry continues, "But it didn't work and you were still married to the king, my… my, um, great grandfather? You told me it was only when you started learning how to use your magic that you finally started to feel more in control of your own life."

Henry notices a single tear fall down Regina's cheek and her deep breath to bring her emotions in check. A couple minutes pass of thoughtful silence before Regina speaks.

"Okay," she says, letting out breath. She sounds relieved and a little nervous at her son knowing of her mother.

"Let's talk about how we shall begin. We have a few minutes before Emma should be arriving. I invited her over to make amends."

Henry perks up at the mention of Emma coming over. He wants his moms to work together and this will only speed up his plans for that happen.

Regina sighs before she continues, "I… trust you, Henry. I will help you with this, this Operation Cobra." She smiles and sighs gratefully, placing her hand under Henry's chin, "I finally managed to get something right in my life. How did I wind up with someone as great as you?"

Henry widens his smile in a large toothy grin.

"Because of _you_ , mom," Henry says, willing Regina to believe, "You were, _are_ , a great mom. You just need to believe in yourself." He reaches forward and wraps his arms around her. She responds immediately this time and holds him tight, keeping her little prince in her arms as long as possible.

 _Things are much better this time._ He thinks. _Operation Cobra 2.0 is better than ever._


	5. Chapter 5 - Good Intentions

**CHAPTER 5! It took some time because I kept losing my momentum, but it's here and hopefully the next chapter will be completed more timely.**

 **My writing for this chapter seems a bit fragmented, but I think it's still understandable.**

 **Who's excited to see the Dark Swan in the premiere tomorrow night? It looks like it will be so good! I've been trying to avoid too many spoilers...**

* * *

Regina and Henry continue to talk about the curse on the couch in her office. Regina fielded more questions from Henry as he revealed a little bit more information about some things that will happen, but not everything. He didn't want to disrupt anything too much too quickly. He mentions to his mom that the first time around, Mary Margaret took Emma into her apartment when she could no longer stay at Granny's Inn.

Regina tilts her head curiously to the side, "Did I, in this former future of yours, have anything to do that?"

Henry smirks. "Yeah, you had her arrested. I… can't remember what for though." Henry scrunches his face, thinking hard through his memories but some things were missing and fuzzy. _Why can't I remember why Emma was arrested? I know mom orchestrated it, but… what was it? Why are those details getting fuzzy? Is it because things are changing?_

"Henry, what is it?" Regina asks, noticing the perplexing look on her son's face. "What's wrong?"

"I think my memories are changing. I can't remember the details of Emma's arrest anymore. Do you think it's because that event won't happen anymore? Is this a good thing?" Henry relaxes his face and looks intently at his mom, hope shining in his eyes.

"I'm not sure. It certainly seems probable."

They sit in silence for a moment, mulling over this new development. Regina turns her head to glance at the clock. She widens her eyes slightly, realizing it's nearly five and Emma is due to arrive any moment. She slowly stands up from the couch and stretches her arms up and out before looking back at Henry.

"Emma should be here soon. I don't know how interesting our discussion will be for you, Henry, but you're welcome to stay," Regina explains as she begins to walk back over to her desk, papers still stacked together on one corner. "In fact, you'll probably keep us from killing each other. That woman is so frustrating."

She laughs quietly to herself, though loud enough that Henry heard her and smirks at how different she is from the first time after just a few simple conversations.

"That's ok, mom," Henry says, getting up from the couch as well. "I can wait for you in the other room until your done. I need to go to the bathroom right now though!"

Henry quickly sprints away, acting very much like the kid he now is again. Regina laughs quietly, pulling her lips in and shaking her head slightly. She turns to her desk and organizes the papers into prioritized piles to tackle tomorrow. She sighs, still doubtful over the change in Henry despite knowing the reasons. She doesn't want to hope everything goes well, things never do. _I just need to take this one step at a time. Henry loves me. He does. He said so. He knows I'm the evil queen and still says he loves me. Okay, you can do this, Regina._

She sighs again before hearing the office door open. Thinking that it's Henry she doesn't turn around until the person who entered addresses her.

"Regina-uh, Madam Mayor. I'm ready to sit and discuss things with you."

Emma shuffles her feet back and forth as Regina turns around. Even though she knows she can deal with anything the mayor can throw her way, Regina still scares her and she wants to do this right.

"Right," Regina answers, wiping her hands together of invisible dirt. She motions to the couch and they both take steps over to sit, "I'd like to start by apologizing, Miss Swan."

"What?" Emma asks. They both sit down.

Regina sighs. Henry wants her to make this work. He's not distancing himself from her anymore and she wants to keep it that way. She's a part of Operation Cobra and she will not let him down or push him away. _Although, how can I be certain that Emma won't take my son from me? What if Henry realizes he likes being with her more?_

"I just have to accept the reality that you want to be here," she says after a beat.

"That's right. I do," Emma says defiantly.

"And that you're here to take my son from me." Regina doesn't waste a beat to respond. She schools her features to hide her true intent with the question.

Emma sighs. She looks intently at the mayor to convince her of her innocence. "Okay, let's be clear. I have no intention of taking him from anyone."

"Well, then what are you doing here?" _Can I trust you, Miss Swan? How can I be sure Henry won't go running to you again and again?_

"As I told you earlier, I know I'm not a mother. I've been in the system my whole life, I don't really know what a _good_ mother is, only what I don't want to do to my own kid-your kid."

Emma coughs a little at Regina's slightly pointed stare.

"I did have him, though. Henry. And I can't help that he got in my head and I want to make sure he's okay. The more I learn about his life, the more I want to be here for the rest of it. Especially after seeing how troubled he is."

"You think he's troubled?" Regina tilts her head slightly to the side.

"Well, he's in therapy -was in therapy," Emma amends remembering the situation earlier at Dr. Hopper's office. "But putting that aside. He thinks everyone in this town is a fairy tale character."

Regina raises her eyebrows and looks at Emma curiously. "And you don't?"

"How can I?" Emma questions, letting out a sigh, "The poor kid can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality and it's only getting worse. It's crazy."

As Regina raises her eyebrows, Henry appears in the doorway from the hall. After he had gone to the bathroom, he made his way back down the hall to his mom's office. He overheard the voices of his moms as he neared the door and knew that Emma had arrived.

Thinking back to when this happened the first time, Henry is glad that those details have not gone fuzzy yet. He remembers getting upset after hearing Emma call him, crazy, and is determined to react differently this time. Being older, at least mentally at this point, has put many things that he has done and how he reacted to certain things in context. He knows he can do better. _I'll start with questioning Emma's statement. I'll make sure to look at mom though so she knows I'm not actually upset._

Henry stops after taking one step into the room, still in the doorway. He glances at Regina briefly before focusing on Emma and schooling his expression in an act of distrust.

"You think I'm crazy?" he asks quietly.

Emma sits up straighter, startled at Henry's appearance.

"Henry…"

Glancing at his mom, he notices that Regina doesn't catch on to his act, but he continues anyway. _She'll figure it out eventually. Or I'll just tell her later._

Knowing that he ran out of the room the last time, Henry forces himself to stay where he is, molding his expression to one of hurt. He tries to think of losing his moms and his family in an effort to make his eyes teary. It's surprisingly easy to make the tears flow. _I guess I really am ten years old again. Just thinking about something sad at eighteen wouldn't make me this upset. Man, I really feel awful. Now the tears won't stop…_

"How long—how much did you hear?" Emma asks hesitantly, her chest constricting as she sees tears falling down Henry's face. She only just met the son she had given up. She does not want to lose him again, especially from her own actions… again.

Henry, continuing to battle with his ten-year-old emotional ability, doesn't respond, but Regina slowly gets up, concerned, and takes steps towards him.

"Henry," Regina says softly placing her hand gently on his shoulder. She bends down to be eye level with him, placing her other hand under his chin and lifting up slightly. She needs to show him she's still on board with his operation. The conversation she just had with him before will not be for naught.

She gives him a small smile and softens her expression further, " _You_ are _not_ crazy. We just need to figure out another way."

Regina looks pointedly at Henry so he understands. After a moment of contemplation, he nods, wiping his cheeks of his tears with the back of his hand.

Regina squeezes Henry's shoulder gently before moving her hand to his back and rubbing in circular motions. She stands up again and turns to Emma who is still sitting on the couch. Emma holds her hands in her lap, anxiously gripping and releasing her thighs above her knees, watching Regina carefully.

"Miss Swan, would you care to say anything?"

Emma looks up at the mayor and places her hands on either side of her, ready to stand up. Taking in a breath, she slowly answers.

"I don't think Henry's crazy," she starts. Henry looks at her, opening his mouth to say something before Emma cuts him off and continues, "I think the curse is crazy. And it is. But, that doesn't mean that isn't true. It is a lot to ask anyone to believe in, but there are a lot of crazy things in this world. So what do I know? Maybe it is true."

Regina tilts her head to the side curiously. Henry's eyes widen and he can't hold back a small smile as he looks on.

"So you believe me?" he asks, hopefully.

Emma falters for a moment, but quickly recovers, sighing as she stands up slowly. She makes her way the few steps over to Henry and bends down on her knee so she's at his eye level.

"What I do know, is that if the curse is real, the only way to break it is to take a look at all of evidence and not jump to any conclusions too early," she answers steadily, "We have to work together, right?"

Emma looks intently at Henry before glancing up at Regina. As she studies her face, Emma sees the smallest hint of an accord from Regina and lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Henry has a really good thing going for him living with Regina, more than she ever got growing up and she doesn't want to ruin anything for him.

"Right! In order for Operation Cobra to work, we _all_ need to be on the same page," Henry exclaims, pulling Emma back to the present. Henry looks determinately back and forth between his two moms, "This means we need to trust each other. All of us."

Henry pauses. He needs to make sure he's understood. He will not make the same mistakes as last time and his mom and Emma will not be on opposite ends of the fight. Not this time.

He stares confidently up at Regina and continues.

"You, me, _and_ Emma need to work together. You need to trust me. You are the Evil Queen, but you're also my mom."

He looks between the two of them again.

"Together, the Evil Queen and the Savior can break the curse. I know we can do this."

Emma and Regina take deep breaths, each concealing decades worth of pain and damage that influence how they take on the world, though they both had the same simultaneous thought. They would do this, for Henry.

A few seconds pass of silence before Emma turns to Henry again. She doesn't quite believe everyone, and herself, are fairytale characters cursed to this world, but she will play along with Henry's theory to gain more evidence. If he can show her further proof… She gives a sideways glance to Regina to see what his mother thinks, but can't get a reading on her expression. _Does she always look so calm and collected and… regal?_

"Now we have the advantage. We're all in this together." Emma says, finally standing up again. She wipes her hands on the sides of her legs.

"I knew you were here to help me," Henry responds, his smile growing as he looks up at her.

"That's right, kid. I am. And nothing, not even a curse is going to stop that."

* * *

Later, after Emma left the mayor's office, Regina and Henry headed home and had a quick dinner before Henry rushed upstairs with his storybook and backpack to do his homework. He had planning to do.

After collecting the dirty plates and putting them in the dishwasher, Regina heads outside to relax in her yard and observe the stars, a favorite past time of hers since she was a child. She sits on the edge of her patio, her feet stretched out on the grass in front of her and leans on her hands behind her back.

After a few minutes, she closes her eyes and takes calming breaths. She tries to think through everything that has happened from Emma arriving and finding out she is the savior of her curse to Henry talking about being from future and agreeing, actually agreeing to work with the savior a few hours ago. It was a lot to process.

She hears distant footsteps coming closer to her position, but ignores them in hopes that whoever it is will go away. Her eyes pop open when she hears their voice.

"Tiring day?"

It's Mr. Gold. He's mocking in his tone, causing her to be extra attentive. Rumpelstiltskin, as he was known in the Enchanted Forest, can't be awake, can he?

Regina doesn't waste a beat. "Not for long. What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?"

"I was just in the neighborhood. Thought I'd pop by," he says, too casually to Regina's ears. She narrows her eyes at him as he continues, slowly. "Lovely to see you so relaxed, considering our new guest in town."

"It's been a good day. I just had a lovely dinner with my son, and the new guest should not be a problem," Regina says, convincing herself as much as Mr. Gold.

"Oh, yes. Emma Swan. The boy's mother."

"Biologically. I am his mother. I have nothing to worry about," Regina counters as confidently as she could. He always has a way of getting to her and under her skin.

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that. I saw her earlier today strolling down Main Street with your boy. Thick as thieves, they looked."

Regina narrows her eyes at Gold further. She knows that Henry talked to Emma earlier. What is he getting at?

Mr. Gold continues, thinking he's getting to her, "Perhaps you should have come to me. If Miss Swan is a problem you can't fix I'm only too happy to help. For a price of course."

Regina stands up from her position and turns away from him slightly.

"I'm not in the business of making deals with you anymore."

"To which deal are you referring?" Mr. Gold asks. To anyone else, he had asked a normal question, but Regina was already doubtful of him when he started speaking. She noticed the slight hesitation before his words. She lifts her chin towards him.

"You know what deal."

"Oh, right. Yeah. The boy I procured for you. Henry. Did I ever tell you what a lovely name that was? However did you pick it?"

Regina catches her eyes from widening further and schools her expression once again. She knows he knows now. How to proceed? Should she let him know that she knows that he knows who he is?

Regina takes a step forward back to her house before turning her head to Mr. Gold and smirking.

"You wanted her to come to town. You wanted all of this to happen, didn't you? Where _did_ you find Henry?"

"I have no idea what you're implying."

"I think you do. You know Emma Swan. You knew when you got Henry for me." Regina turns back around so she's facing Mr. Gold fully again. "Admit it. Admit everything."

Mr. Gold opens his mouth for a split second then closes it again, regaining his composure as if it was never lost.

"I'll admit nothing. I really must be going." He starts walking away to the way he came. Regina runs ahead and stands in front of him. She moves her head up then tilts her chin down, looking at him in the eyes.

"Tell me who you are."

There's a twinkle in his eye. Mr. Gold smirks at Regina, "I'm not going to answer you, dear. So I suggest you excuse me. Please."

As he leaves her yard, Regina remains standing in her position, momentarily paralyzed before she smirks, her own eyes twinkling, scheming. _Oh, this is interesting._


End file.
